Poll: NY voters still split on fracking

New York voters remain nearly split on drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale as Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration continues to weigh whether to allow it, a poll released Thursday found.

Uticaod

Writer

Posted Apr. 18, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 18, 2013 at 6:15 PM

Posted Apr. 18, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 18, 2013 at 6:15 PM

ALBANY

New York voters remain nearly split on drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale as Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration continues to weigh whether to allow it, a poll released Thursday found.

The Quinnipiac University survey found 46 percent of state voters opposed drilling, which is unchanged from the university's March poll. Support for drilling increased from 39 percent in March to 42 percent on Thursday.

Regionally, the poll's results are fairly consistent with what Quinnipiac has shown in the past. Opposition to drilling was highest in New York City -- 47 percent -- while the city's suburbs and upstate were both split.

Cuomo's administration is faced with deciding whether high-volume hydraulic fracturing -- the much-debated method used as part of the shale-gas drilling process -- should be permitted in New York.

"Fracking continues to divide the state by party, region and gender. The thumbs-down we found last time is moving back into a grey area," Quinnipiac pollster Maurice Carroll said in a statement. "Voters still think it will bring new jobs -- and some environmental damage."

A final decision awaits a completed health review from state Health Commissioner Nirav Shah, who has twice asserted his review would be completed in "the next few weeks" -- once in January and once in March.

The poll found 32 percent thought Cuomo is "dragging his feet" on making a decision, while 24 percent said he's "carefully evaluating the issue." The remaining 44 percent said they had no opinion or didn't know.

In New York Magazine this week, Cuomo said there's "no politics for me one way or the other" when it comes to a fracking decision.

"It's literally 50-50," Cuomo said of recent polls. "I just want the smart decision. And I want the right decision."

Cuomo has previously challenged pro-fracking interests to do more to educate the public on the process. The New York State Petroleum Council said Thursday it has launched a campaign to convince the public fracking is safe and beneficial.

"(It) is critical that communities learn that natural gas development and the taxation of gas delivery infrastructure already has resulted in reducing property taxes and brought low cost energy to countless communities across the state," Karen Moreau, the group's executive director, said in a statement.

Julia Walsh, a spokeswoman for New Yorkers Against Fracking, said as state voters learn more about fracking, the "more they oppose it." She pointed to the state Medical Society, a physicians group that called for an extended fracking moratorium this week.

"The fact is that residents of our great state are looking at the evidence, which shows the disastrous consequences of fracking, and listening to our medical experts and scientists who are unified in raising serious concerns and calling for additional study," Walsh said in a statement.

Page 2 of 2 - The Quinnipiac poll of 1,404 voters was conducted between April 9 and 14. It has a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.